Right now though, every sign, signal, and background chatter indicates John McCain will pick Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's governor, as his running mate.

UPDATE: A source close to the campaign now confirms for me that it "more likely than not" is Pawlenty. He does, however, caution me that the campaign does not actually want to leak tonight lest the Obama camp get too much of a chance to play the victim card with a sympathetic media.

Below the fold, I've compiled data on Pawlenty that you might find useful. Protecting the Unborn

*

Recognized as a pro-life leader by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life *

Has appointed judicial conservatives to the bench, and recently drew praise from pro-life advocates for his appointment of Eric Magnuson as Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court *

Fought for and signed pro-life measures including: Womans Right to Know (requiring 24 hour waiting period and required information be provided before an abortion), a fetal pain awareness act (requiring notice and information regarding pain experienced by fetuses) and positive alternatives to abortion act (providing funding and support for organizations promoting alternatives to abortion). *

Believes life begins at conception *

Strong desire to overturn Roe v. Wade *

Opposes embryonic stem-cell research while supporting adult stem cell research

Protecting the Taxpayer

*

Achieved long-standing state goal of moving Minnesota out of the top ten highest taxed states according to the U.S. Census Bureau *

In 2003, resolved the largest budget deficit in state history and the largest budget deficit in the nation at the time (as percent of state budget) without raising taxes *

Vetoed all bills which increased taxes, including setting single session record for vetoes (34) by a Minnesota Governor *

Supported Performance Pay for politicians, which would dock the pay of state office holders if a balanced budget is not passed by the constitutional deadline *

Has keep state employment roles essentially flat during his 5+ years in office. *

Proposed and signed into law welfare reform that requires able-bodied people to seek work *

* Established an office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to assist social organizations increase their effectiveness by gaining better access to the financial resources of state and federal governments

Accountability in Education

*

Developed and implemented nation-leading reforms in education, including performance pay for teachers. *

Yeah, what in the blue flock is up with the slowdown ? I have a fast cable connection and I don’t remember using AOL dial-up when it was dragging this bad. If it’s this bad now, Election Night will be a farking fiasco and totally crashed.

157
posted on 08/28/2008 8:13:26 PM PDT
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Yeah, what in the blue flock is up with the slowdown ? I have a fast cable connection and I dont remember using AOL dial-up when it was dragging this bad. If its this bad now, Election Night will be a farking fiasco and totally crashed.

From my experiences with my own servers, the traceroutes look like it's under a DOS of some kind, but one can't know definitively from here.

You'd think they'd have blocked it off by now though. Maybe Jim can shed some light.

This is a complete disaster pick. just think of the headlines and the new direction this could have all gone if he had picked Palin. A strong women conservative. Instead he picks a boring nobody from an upper mid west state.

No proof of that whatsoever. No member of his family has won a majority of the vote for an office there in 42 years. His mother lost in the single greatest landslide for a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan history.

"and he can also handle Biden in the debates."

What fun. They can one up each other in the bullcrap department. They're both masters. The poor audience will be buried alive.

165
posted on 08/28/2008 8:31:25 PM PDT
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

Pawlenty doesn't add anything for McCain. He may not turn voters off, but I can't see him turning too many voters on either. This race is too close for McCain to go with someone as unknown and unexceptional as Pawlenty.

Pawlenty seems too be a decent guy, but not a political heavyweight. I'm concerned about how he will fare against Biden.

McCain should pick someone who is perceived as being capable immediately assuming the role of POTUS in the event he cannot finish his term of office, which at his age is a greater concern than it will be with Obama.

To be honest, Pawlenty doesn't strike me as someone ready to be POTUS. Of course, Obama doesn't seem ready to be POTUS either and there is the problem with picking Pawlenty, or Palin or Cantor for that matter. They may be good up and coming conservatives, but are they ready for the immense responsibilities and challenges of being President at this stage of their careers?

If you are going to declare Obama unfit for office because he lacks the experience to be President you can't pick a young VP who also lacks enough experience for that position.

I have been told it is not Romney, Ridge, or LIEberman earlier this evening but I also think it is not going to be Pawlenty from info received not too long ago. My guess is Palin or Cantor now. A lot of disinformation being spread but my money is on Palin until the next email.

Of course, point that out to his unhinged supporters that you’re judging him as an individual and nothing more and they’ll still call you anti-Mormon... no diff than “You’re racist if you don’t support Obie.” All a big steaming pile...

176
posted on 08/28/2008 9:22:27 PM PDT
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

“From what I can tell about Sean Hannity, he prefers to wrap his mouth around a nice rare Mormon sausage.”

You know, I can come up with no legitimate reason why you haven’t been banned for your gross vulgarities on Freeper threads. You have such a low class mentality that you inflict on others. That was a disgusting thing to say about both Sean Hannity and Mitt Romney. Filth, that’s what you seem to thrive on. Come on moderator, nip this in the bud before he multiplies his postings.

Methinks the loonie doth protest too much. I know you're just in a hissy because McCain didn't drink the Kool-Aid and choose that Socialist con-man fraud of yours for an important position of trust. So I only have one thing to add...

184
posted on 08/29/2008 1:12:56 PM PDT
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

I only made a prediction on the Dem side for VP, but it wasn’t a definitive one (that being the KS Governor). The choice of Biden was astonishingly stupid. Had he picked Gilligan-Sebelius, it would’ve taken the luster off McCain’s pick (and made McCain look desperate — indeed, KGS might’ve even curtailed Palin being picked). For the GOP side, I was hoping McCain would go for one of our top three most experienced Governors, but he chose Palin, one of our up-and-comers, instead, and fortunately for McCain, not a divisive choice.

McCain, of course, should be able to win now, but the race isn’t over, yet, and he still has a habit of making lots of gaffes. I’d put Palin out front and center more than himself. She combines looks, a pleasant personality AND an air of authority, too. If McCain wins, she may well find herself as President in less than 4 years, which I give better than 50% odds on.

186
posted on 08/29/2008 5:48:35 PM PDT
by fieldmarshaldj
(~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)

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